Crossroads: Poems of a Mississippi Childhood

by Robert Hamblin

Front Porch

Each summer eveningit gathered us,warm and compliant,Daddy home from work,relaxing in the huge rocker,occasionally leaning forwardto spit tobacco juiceover the pots of petunias and pansiesonto the hard, grassless yard,Mama in the swing, momentarily freedfrom stove and sink and broom,though her hands,never able to rest,still busied themselvesdarning socksor crocheting doilies,while Agnes and I saton the edge of the porch,legs dangling in air,or lounged on the top step,searching for friends’ facesin the rear windows of passing cars,and wishing that onewould turn off the gravel roadand park beside our house,and if one didn’t,having to be contentedwith the hushed conversation of parents recounting the events of the dayor, better, the generations,until the chorus of tree frogs and crickets overtook the voicesand even a full moonor the bright neon flaringof hundreds of lightning bugsor the feeble patch of lightblooming through the open windowcould not stay the eclipse of laughteror rescue those rugged, sun-creased,darling faces from the relentless, certainshadows of night.

Summary:

The 55 poems in the book describe people and events Hamblin remembers from his boyhood days at Brice's Cross Roads, a northeast-Mississippi rural community best known as the site of a famous Civil War battle.

Praise:

Bob Hamblin doesn’t miss much of importance, whether he actually remembers it or makes it up, like any poet, to fill the gaps that memory can’t reach. These strong, evocative poems will reach those gaps in our memories, too, make us whole by removing the screens which often keep us from remembering what we saw, from seeing what we remember. These poems are clear-eyed and moving.

Reading Crossroads, you appreciate the depth and complexity of these poems that range over the full spectrum of life and accumulate a profound wisdom in perfect rhythm and a music that delights the heart and mind.

— Terry Everett, Mississippi poet, author of The Work of Two Hands

This is a deeply felt book that understands that language can seek the desired crossroads between what once was and what is. At certain times Hamblin reminds us that the past must be grasped even when it is profoundly regrettable, but in most of these compelling pieces the poet asks us to traverse his crossroads in search of what must be saved.

— Joseph Stanton, author of Imaginary Museum: Poems on Art

Reflecting on the diverse and tumultuous history of his state, [Hamblin] has much in the way of the profound, intriguing verse with a lot to understand. Crossroads is a fine anthology of poetry, highly recommended.

— Midwest Book Review

Robert Hamblin writes with such clarity and style, there is no work for the reader but to enjoy the tale he shares about his past and the people and place that raised him — every last stubborn one of them.

— Big Muddy: A Journal of the Mississippi River Valley

This book is available in Kindle, Nook, Sony, Kobo, and Apple E-book formats, for purchase, and through public libraries' Overdrive account, for loan.